Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

PROBLEM: With a shortage of doctoral graduates in social work for available faculty jobs (Zastrow & Bremner, 2004; Author, 2006, 2007) and concerns about doctoral education in the U.S. across disciplines and professions (Carnegie Foundation, 2006; Nettles & Millet, 2006; Thurgood, Golladay & Hill, 2006; Walker, 2006), doctoral education in social work is being re-examined. While individual doctoral programs survey their graduates periodically, little or no national data are collected on doctoral students in social work beyond the annual data and counts of students and graduates CSWE compiles (Lennon, 2005), data that do not address career goals, employment outcomes, or quality of students' educational experiences. This study collected data from STUDENTS about their interest in research, their satisfaction with their research experiences in their doctoral programs, and where research fits into their career goals and plans for employment. STUDY METHOD: A web-based survey of doctoral students enrolled in GADE-member social work doctoral programs in the U.S. and Canada was undertaken in March and April, 2007. The questionnaire was based on instruments used in national surveys in other fields (National Research Council, 2007; Nettles & Millet, 2006). Notification of the survey was sent to enrolled students at all phases of doctoral study via their doctoral program directors. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS; qualitative data are being analyzed using Atlas-ti. FINDINGS: Based on the 444 responses received and analyzed to date, despite concerns about the professional background of current doctoral students (Zastrow & Bremner, 2004), 93% of respondents had an MSW and 23% of respondents had a BSW degree. Interest in research was moderately strong among survey respondents: “Increas[ing] my ability to do research” ranked 4th among 10 items describing reasons for getting the doctoral degree. Within their programs, students' research experiences varied, with respondents reported having learned about research ethics (91%), preparing articles for publication (90%), conducting independent research (87%), writing proposals for funding (66%), and project management (48%), although in some areas instruction was informal. Funding for conference travel was often lacking. While faculty employment was the most common expectation of respondents at graduation (49.9%), 13% planned on research employment, and attitudes toward research work were highly favorable. Detailed demographics and findings on mentoring will also be presented. Comments from the open-ended questions reflected three themes: wanting more depth and rigor in research curriculum, complaints about variation in access to affiliation with faculty research, and complaints about the narrowness of the epistemological and methodological approaches taught, most often lack of adequate exposure to qualitative methods. CONCLUSIONS: Research, including evidence-based practice, is vital to the future of the social work profession and programs educating social workers (Author & Kuerbis, under review). About half of respondents (49%) volunteered to participate in further research, which should be pursued. These findings about current doctoral students' research attitudes and experiences will be discussed in the context of the rest of the study findings, and suggestions for improving research education in social work doctoral programs will be presented.